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Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has been nominated for Game of the Year as part of the Indie Game Awards set for December 18th, and this comes just before Geoff Keighley reveals the Game Awards nominations on November 17th.
The Indie Game Awards is put together by Six One Indie who announced the nominees on November 13th. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is nominated for Indie Game of the Year as well as Best Debut Game. It isn’t nominated for Best Music, which is equally as shocking as it being completely snubbed by the Grammys.
You may recognise amongst the nominees there is no Dispatch. AdHoc Studio’s Dispatch has quickly become a massive hit and late GOTY contender selling over 1 million copies in just 10 days, but unfortunately it released too late for the Indie Game Awards. This is because only games released between November 1st, 2024, and October 31st, 2025, are eligible, and Dispatch’s final two episodes didn’t release until November 12th. Hopefully it is eligible for Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards.
Indie Game Awards 2025 Nominees
Below is the full list of Indie Game Awards 2025 nominees (via Polygon):
Game of the Year nominees
- Absolum – Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, and Supamonks
- and Roger – TearyHand Studio
- Blue Prince – Dogubomb
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive
- Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, and Ken “coda” Snyder
- Hades 2 – Supergiant Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
- Keep Driving – YCJY Games
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
Achievement in Accessibility nominees
- Abiotic Factor – Deep Field Games
- Barista – YofiAsi
- Calm the Storm – Ludic Lemur
- Peak – Team PEAK
- Spray Paint Simulator – North Star Video Games
- Squeakross: Home Squeak Home – Alblune
ANZ Indie Game Award nominees
- Abiotic Factor – Deep Field Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
- Mars First Logistics – Shape Shop
- PROXIMATE – Cain Maddox
- Tempopo – Witchbeam
- The Drifter – Powerhoof
Bite-Sized Game nominees
- CARIMARA – Beneath the Forlorn Limbs – Bastinus Rex
- FlyKnight – Wabbaboy
- Many Nights a Whisper – Deconstructeam, Selkie Harbour
- The Dark Queen of Mortholme – Mosu
- this game will end in 205 clicks. – insertdisc5
- Time Flies – Playables
Black Voice in Gaming nominees
- Advent Neon – CryoGX
- Altheia: The Wrath of Aferi – MarsLit Games
- Sorry We’re Closed – à la mode games
- Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To – Soft Not Weak, LLC
- Sunken Stones – Spritewrench
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown – Strange Scaffold
Community Management nominees
- Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder
- Date Everything! – Sassy Chap Games
- IKEELYA – ALL DAY ALL NIGHT
- PEAK – Team PEAK
- Soulstone Survivors – Game Smithing Limited
- Strange Scaffold – Strange Scaffold
Debut Game nominees
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – Sandfall Interactive
- Discounty – Crinkle Cut Games
- Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson – Ritual Studios
- ILA: A Frosty Glide – Magic Rain Studios
- Sorry We’re Closed – a la mode Games
- Tyrant’s Realm – Team Tyrant
Emotional Impact nominees
- Afterlove EP – Pikselnesia
- and Roger – TearyHand Studio
- Don’t Get Your Hopes Up – Krish Raghav
- Henry Halfhead – Lululu Entertainment
- Wanderstop – Ivy Road
- Wednesdays – Pierre Corbinais, The Pixel Hunt, exaheva
Gameplay Design nominees
- Absolum – Dotemu, Guard Crush Games, Supamonks
- BallxPit – Kenny Sun
- Dawnfolk – Darenn Keller
- Hades II – Supergiant Games
- Hollow Knight: Silksong – Team Cherry
- Keep Driving – YCJY Games
- Look Outside – Francis Coulombe
- Öoo – NamaTakahashi, tiny cactus studio, Tsuyomi
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
- The King is Watching – Hypnohead
Innovation nominees
- Blue Prince – Dogubomb
- FREERIDE – Flightyfelon Games Inc.,
- Gas Station Story – enzi
- PBJ The Musical – Philipp Stollenmayer
- Ruffy and the Riverside – Zockrates Laboratories UG
- Taria & Como – Poppyseed Studio Inc, JuVee Productions
Latin American Indie Award nominees
- Adventure of Samsara – Ilex Games
- despelote – Julian Cordero, Sebastian Valbuena
- Kulebra and the Souls of Limbo – Galla
- Pipistrello and the Cursed Yoyo – Pocket Trap
- Taria & Como – Poppyseed Studio Inc, JuVee Productions
- Tormented Souls 2 – Dual Effect
Music nominees
- Everhood 2 – Cazok, KM_EXP, Stewart Keller, Lewmoth, Chris Nordgren, CatGod, Beat Tape, Dancefloor Is Lava, INFX
- Herdling – Joel Schoch
- Rift of the NecroDancer – Danny Baranowsky, Alex Moukala, Jules Conroy, Josie Brechner, Sam Webster, and Nick Nausbaum
- SONOKUNI – Don Yasa Crew
- Sword of the Sea – Austin Wintory
- Wheel World – Johnny Jewel, JOON, Orion
Narrative nominees
- Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector – Jump Over the Age
- Consume Me – Jenny Jiao Hsia, AP Thomson, Jie En Lee, Violet W-P, Ken “coda” Snyder
- Promise Mascot Agency – Kaizen Game Works
- The Drifter – Powerhoof, Dave Lloyd
- The Roottrees are Dead – Evil Trout Inc.
- The Séance of Blake Manor – Spooky Doorway
Solo Development nominees
- ANTONBLAST – Summitsphere
- Lushfoil Photography Sim – Matt Newell
- Megabonk – vedinad
- NAIAD – HiWarp
- Spilled! – Lente
- Vile: Exhumed – Cara Cadaver
South African Indie Game Award nominees
- Bru & Boegie Get Da Milk! – MIKDOG
- Finding Father – Studio Bo
- Flibbius McDoogle and The Mysterious Flying Machine – Unsigned Double Collective
- IKEELYA – ALL DAY ALL NIGHT
- Metavoidal – Yellow Lab Games
- Stick It To The Stickman – Free Lives
Southeast Asian Indie Game Award nominees
- Afterlove EP – Pikselnesia
- Artis Impact – Mas
- Glyphica: Typing Survival – aliasBLACK
- SEDAP! A Culinary Adventure – kopiforge
- Urban Jungle – Kylyk Games
- Whisper Mountain Outbreak – Toge Productions
Visual Design nominees
- 30 Birds – RAM RAM Games, Business Goose Studios
- Artis Impact – Mas
- Cat Detective Albert Wilde – beyondthosehills
- Eclipsium – Housefire
- Mashina – Talha and Jack Co, J. King Spooner, Talha Kaya
- Slime Rancher 2 – Monomi Park
Women-Led Indie Game Award nominees
- Cabernet – Party for Introverts
- Duck Detective: The Ghost of Glamping – Happy Broccoli Games
- Gemporium: A Cute Mining Sim – Merge Conflict Studio
- Spilled! – Lente
- Urban Myth Dissolution Center – Hakababunko
- White Knuckle – Dark Machine Games
Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards 2025 Nominees Set to be Announced
Geoff Keighley has revealed on X that The Game Awards 2025 nominees will be announced on November 17th at 9AM PT/12PM ET/5PM GMT.
Clair Obscur Expedition 33 is the favorite to win the coveted Game of the Year prize. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director has said Expedition 33 is his Game of the Year, and Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has cost his vote for Sandfall Interactive, too. While these awards shows will take place in December, Clair Obscur Expedition 33 already won GOTY at Gamescom x Asia in October, and it is nominated for Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards taking place on November 20th.
While Expedition 33 is the favorite amongst many, it is not guaranteed to win as there is fierce competition. Dispatch has emerged as a late contender, Hades 2 is the highest-rated game on Metacritic, Hollow Knight Silksong took the world by storm, Death Stranding 2 is an excellent sequel helmed by Geoff Keighley’s best friend Kojima, and there’s also games like Megabonk, Ball X Pit, and Ghost of Yotei, just to name a few. There’s also a fierce debate about whether Arc Raiders should be a contender.
The awards are nice, but the biggest appeal of Geoff Keighley’s show is the announcements and surprises. Nothing for the show has specifically leaked yet, but there are leaks concerning a Ubisoft battle royale “heavily inspired” by Apex Legends.
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